Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Rubans pour les cheveux

It's also the name I decided to give the quilt I designed and made using Tula Pink's new line, Parisville. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Allow me to step back a few months ...

Back in August, I was asked by Tula herself and the nice people at Free Spirit / Westminster if I would be interested in designing and making a quilt featuring the Parisville line. The quilt would hang at Quilt Market in Houston to showcase the line, and the pattern would be made available as a free pattern to accompany the line on the Free Spirit site.

It took me all of about two seconds (just enough time to pick my jaw up off of the floor) to say "yes!" A chance to play with the as-yet unreleased Parisville? And have something actually on display at market?! Duh.

My mind began thinking of a bunch of different directions I could go in with my design. I was a bit overwhelmed and anxious about it, to be honest. It wasn't until I actually spoke to Tula on the phone about the project that my idea really started to come together. You see, she told me a little more about the line itself and her thinking and design process in pulling it all together. The thing that stuck most in my mind was a single comment that Tula said: "it's really ALL about the hair."

Hence, an idea was born -- a quilt pattern depicting hair ribbons & bows! Hey, I thought it had more mass appeal than my other idea: a quilt featuring guillotines in honor of Marie Antoinette. I wasn't sure how that would go over with the quilt market crowd. (Tula, I'm still going to make you a mini quilt based on that idea!)

I sketched out some ideas on graph paper, and realized that the ribbons could be assembled from some of the most basic of quilt blocks: simple squares and rectangles, half-square triangles, and flying geese.

By this point I had the precious cuts of fabric in hand and headed over to my local shop (Wish Upon a Quilt) to pick out some coordinating fabrics. (Here's a tip for anyone who has purchased the Mist colorway: the Free Spirit solids in ICE, ORCHID, CREAM, & OLIVE (an Amy Butler solid) coordinate wonderfully with the prints. I can provide the FS#'s if you want them.) I couldn't decide on a single solid to use, so I decided to use all of them. I created a rugby stripe-like effect with the four different colors.

And here are some photos that I took along the way ...

A close-up of some of the ribbons (and a hair bow!) after I had finished piecing the top:

The entire quilt top laid out on my living room rug:

Here's a shot taken on my back deck in the sun. The quilt had just come home from the quilter:

And now, some beauty shots of the quilting. Once again, I collaborated with Bethany (of bethanyquilts.com) to work on a design that would really highlight the quilt pattern and prints. Bethany really delivered the goods!

Bethany alternated between two different quilting designs -- one in the blue and cream layers, and one in the purple and green layers. They remind me of intricate lacework, and the dense quilting on the solid portions of the quilt really allowed the ribbons featuring Tula's masterful design work to pop.

Some more shots of the quilting ...

And what it was all leading up to ... on display at Quilt Market in Houston!!

I was so fortunate not only to have my quilt hanging at market, but to be able to attend and see it in person. It was really a big moment for me, for which I am very, very grateful.

The quilt was hanging in the Free Spirit / Westminster row, where the company reps were holding all of their customer meetings. Every new line was showcased by a single quilt.

By the way, I also designed and made a second quilt for market that was also hanging in this row! It was a last minute request because some yardage of David Walker's new line, "Baby Talk", had become available. Here's a picture of that quilt on display:

I'm calling this one "ABC Menagerie":

I'll post on that quilt separately, but let me just tell you -- the line features both unicorns and narwhals. That's a sure sign of a winner in my book.

But I digress. Back to my Parisville quilt ...

I received the most wonderful feedback on the quilt from Tula herself, the folks from Free Spirit / Westminster, and my many quilt market buddies. The one comment I heard over and over again was that it was just so original and "didn't look like anything else". And I take that as the highest compliment.

Neither of the two patterns ("Rubans de cheveux" nor "ABC Menagerie") have been posted to the Free Spirit site yet. I will be sure to let you all know when they do. Or, let me know if you see them first!

Here's a picture of me and the woman herself, Tula Pink. It was great to finally get to meet her in person after striking up an online friendship so long ago when I first posted my Full Moon Forest quilt blocks. I only wish we could have hung out more ... but there's always Salt Lake City!

Tula's booth at market was absolutely stunning, and I am ecstatic that Parisville is finally hitting the stores so that all of you can have as much fun playing with it as I did.

And no post about Tula would be complete without a picture of my puppy (also named Tula!) She's getting SO big -- way bigger than I ever expected her to get. She's a GREAT dog. We really lucked out.

John, you are doing a fabulous job with your quilts. That Parisville quilt is out of this world! The machine quilting by Bethany really enhances the design of the quilt. I was studying some of the stitching and just thought Wow. Such a cool honor to make a quilt for Tula Pink. Good for you - you deserve it!

The design of your Rubans de chevaux is very special and original. The quilting on that one is beyond wonderful. A guillotine quilt sounds even more original! Or how about a 'let them eat layer cake' quilt? ;)

Thanks so much for sharing the whole process! The ribbon theme does a great job of showing off the great prints in this collection! This is the first chance I've had to see the quilt up close, and the quilting complements all your piecing perfectly. I'm still getting over the fact that you talked to Tula Pink *on the phone*. Can't wait to see your next project!

Congrats on your quilt pattern! I'm totally in love with it (and Parisville, of course). And Tula the dog is beyond adorable!!! I hope you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving. :) Thanks for your continuing inspiration!

What a creative design for that wonderful collection; your quilter also did a fantastic job with it. When I saw a pic of the quilt at market, I wondered when we would be hearing the whole story. It was a Thanksgiving gift to us! *S*

And on that note, have a sweet holiday, and let Tula have a little taste of turkey, ok?

Tula is so pretty! I had a landscaping client with a dog that looked like that, SOOO SOFT! She was a Wheaton terrier, and when I met her I wanted one someday! Such a sweet and good dog! Your quilts look wonderful!

Hi John,Not sure if I ever commented on your blog before, but I just HAD to leave a comment on this one and tell you how much I love that ribbon quilt. You have truly outdone yourself -- it is such an original and stunning design. Congratulations!Joanna

Absolutely fabulous quilt and oh I love the selveges. My sister has just come home (New Zealand) from a trip to Italy and France and I was searching everywhere for selveges with the right words to cover a notebook for her memoirs... And there you have it.

John, I am impressed! I love this quilt and the fabric line. I had seen it advertised before but it really shows up in your posts of your quilt. Congratulations. I think you have entered a whole new arena for sure! The best of luck to you! Alia from Muscat, Oman